It’s that time of year again when football fans turn their attention to the Superbowl teams, making bet on their favorites. For the advertisers scheduled to appear in the game, at an average cost of $2.7 million for a thirty second spot, the name of the game is ratings.

Traditionally, Superbowl ratings have hovered in the 40.0 range with shares of all viewing homes reaching into the 60 range.

Prediction: This year’s game will generate a 41.3 rating and a 61 share. This translates to 46,586,400 households at an average program Cost Per Thousand of $57.96. It is likely that commercial ratings will push that figure closer to $59.00.

Marketers note: We may also see a bit of an upset in regional ratings as the East Coast markets will have a greater interest in the game than would the Midwest or Pacific regions. Internet activity will also increase, driving traffic to sites reporting on the game. Plan accordingly.

When will the market see the next milestone at $3.0 million for thirty seconds? Look to 2010, with an average CPM of $62.00

Some may argue that the efficiency is lost to the egos of those who run their commercials in the game. It’s all relative. The hype and excitement generated around the commercials can energize a company internally for weeks before and after the game. Buzz (good or bad) will go a long way to elevate a brand’s status. And while the cost may seem initially high, compare the cost of reaching these households with the cost of reaching persons in households interested in medical advice that can range upwards of $100.00 on a CPM basis.

It’s an apples to oranges comparison, but nonetheless, argues that the Superbowl package and the ability to keystone a full year’s marketing effort around it makes it worth every penny. Anhauser Busch has, for years, been the exclusive beer sponsor, picking up four minutes in the game this year. I would argue that any other beer would kill for the opportunity to do the same.

With over 4.2 million views on YouTube, the following video is a great example of real-life situations creating a brilliantly executed message. Although not for all marketers, the rare few that would venture into this territory will reap its benefits.

All too often, this type of execution will find its way to some archives, rarely exposed to the public. Hats off to the adbakery.com for providing the platform for exposure.

Jerry Yang, CEO of Yahoo! Opened the CES show on Monday, detailing his vision for a world view of everything Yahoo!. With the fortunes of Yahoo! hitting the skids lately, the banter sounded very much like that which the world already has, or will shortly have, with Google as a portal to the world’s riches.

According to Yang, “from the newest to the most experienced user, Yahoo!’s goal is to be the simple starting point for a much richer and more complex world so you can get more out of it. Whether you’re looking for fun, information, entertainment or social connections, you want to experience everything to the fullest – this is living life with an exclamation point.”

And how does Yang expect to get there? By abandoning the desktop and being “committed to creating the best and richest mobile experience for all consumers – making it extremely personalized to their individual style and needs while opening up the Yahoo! mobile platform to allow anyone to participate.”

Today’s beta launch of the Yahoo! Home Mobile page, based on Yahoo! Go 2.0 (http://beta.m.yahoo.com) is nothing short of an embarrassing disgrace. And the simultaneous launch of the all-in-one flagship mobile offering of Yahoo! Go 3.0 has already tripped with a “we’ll let you know when it’s ready” notice. So much for making deadlines.

Betting the ranch on a mobile app, viewed on a postage stamp screen, is not my vision of an app that will “delight hundreds of millions of users worldwide.” It will not turn this company around, but merely serve to accelerate its downward spiral.